# Reccomoned me some new authors, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333 "2009-06-10T15:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/1 "2009-06-10T15:14:26Z")
Matt Ruff, Jasper Fforde, Donald Westlake, Vernor Vinge. Guys like that. But I’ve read everything they’ve written, well except for Westlake. Christopher Moore is OK, when he’s not being too cute, same thing for Pratchett with Discworld. I just read Adam-Troy Castro, If you like Vinge, you’ll like Castro. Edward Abbey wrote my all-time favorite book; “A Fool’s Progress”. So, anybody got a few authors for me? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/2 "2009-06-10T16:12:33Z")
If you like Westlake, you might like Lawrence Block’s THE BURGLAR WHO… series. They’re slightly more mystery and way less comedy, but still enjoyable. You might also try Janet Evanovich’s series about Stephanie Plum, starting with ONE FOR THE MONEY. They’re laugh-out-loud funny and beautifully written. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/3 "2009-06-10T16:27:10Z")
How about Neil Gaiman? While he has written quite a few graphic novels, I was introduced to him by his regular novels: e.g., American Gods, Anansi Boys. J. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/4 "2009-06-10T17:04:51Z")
Andrew Mueller. I Wouldn’t Start from Here. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/5 "2009-06-10T17:13:42Z")
Thanks for the input. I forgot about Neil Gaiman when writing the OP. I feel like I’ve read some Lawrence Block, but can’t remember what. Keep em coming. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/6 "2009-06-10T17:17:43Z")
Tom Holt - **Expecting Someone Taller, Flying Dutch, The Portable Door, Who’s Afraid of Beowulf?** ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/7 "2009-06-10T17:20:54Z")
Kage Baker? Connie Willis? ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/8 "2009-06-10T17:36:04Z")
Have you tried Carl Hiaasen? He’s an entertaining smart-ass, without much cute. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/9 "2009-06-10T17:50:16Z")
If Hiaasen floats your boat, try Tim Dorsey. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/10 "2009-06-10T17:52:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Tom Holt - **Expecting Someone Taller, Flying Dutch, The Portable Door, Who’s Afraid of Beowulf?** > [@ENugent](#): > > Kage Baker? Connie Willis? Haven’t read either of those. Thanks. > [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Have you tried Carl Hiaasen? He’s an entertaining smart-ass, without much cute. Yeah, I enjoy Hiaasen (I always thought it was Hiassen, had to go look at one). He seems, IMHO, like an next generation of Elmore Leonard. I’ve been through Charlie Huston, P.J Tracey and Dennis Lehane too. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/11 "2009-06-10T17:53:59Z")
Matt Ruff is one of my favourite authors (I especially like The Public Works Trilogy), and I would say if you like him you would like (his friend?) Neal Stephenson – but Neal seems to be an acquired taste. Then again, I don’t know any of the other authors you mentioned (except Pratchett) so take my reccomendations with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/12 "2009-06-10T18:42:39Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Haven’t read either of those. Thanks. Connie Willis will be sort of a mixed bag for you, I think. I’d start with some of her comedies (since you like Jasper Fforde). Bellwether is very funny. The Doomsday Book is undoubtedly her best-known, and it’s very much a love it or hate it book. You have to be prepared to deal with some tragedy, but I think it’s worth it. To Say Nothing of the Dog is a screwball comedy that would be a great first book, but it is sort of a sequel to The Doomsday Book. I read them in order - I’m not sure what it would be like to read To Say Nothing of the Dog first. For Kage Baker, you definitely want to start with The Garden of Iden. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/13 "2009-06-10T19:01:35Z")
Some favorites of my book club: _The Time Traveler’s Wife_ by Audrey Niffenegger - the inadvertent and uncontrollable time-travelling of a young man wreaks havoc with his decades-long romance with his eventual wife. _The Perfect Storm_ by Sebastian Junger - gripping adventure and tragedy at sea _Last Chance to See_ by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine - a tragicomic travelogue about endangered species _In the Lake of the Woods_ by Tim O’Brien - a creepy, Vietnam-influenced mystery _The Hot Zone_ by Richard Preston - fascinating nonfiction about a near-outbreak of the Ebola virus in the U.S. _The Reader_ by Bernhard Schlink - quiet novel about love, guilt and betrayal _The Great Santini_ by Pat Conroy - funny, bleak novel about a domineering Marine and his family _Angela’s Ashes_ by Frank McCourt - deeply moving novel about growing up poor in Depression-era Ireland _Everybody Smokes in Hell_ by John Ridley - scabrously funny novel about a suicidal rock star and a beautiful assassin _My Dark Places_ by James Ellroy - nonfiction; the author investigates the murder of his own mother _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin - satirical sf novel about ecological engineering, overpopulation, absolute power and war _Fatherland_ by Robert Harris - chilling alt-history about a murder investigation in 1964 Nazi Germany _Into Thin Air_ by Jon Krakauer - true story of a Mount Everest climbing expedition gone horribly awry _Founding Brothers_ by Joseph Ellis - masterful, Pulitzer-winning history of the Framers and their dealings with each other _First Among Equals_ by Jeffrey Archer - an engrossing political novel, tracing the lives, loves and careers of three rising British politicians who eventually vie to become prime minister _The Killer Angels_ by Michael Shaara - another Pulitzer winner, a powerful novel about the Battle of Gettysburg _Everybody Smokes in Hell_ by John Ridley - scabrously funny novel about a suicidal rock star and a beautiful assassin _A Long Way Down_ by Nick Hornby - comic novel about four would-be suicides who meet on a London rooftop OK, I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomoned-me-some-new-authors-please/499333/14 "2009-06-10T21:17:39Z")
Hmm. I’m not very familiar with most of your guys, except Fforde, Pratchett, and Moore, so my sense of humor might be too “cute” for your taste, so there’s that grain of salt. Alexander McCall Smith: _Portuguese Irregular Verbs_, and its sequels. About a clueless, arrogant professor and his hijinks. Very short. British humor. I know Smith has a lengthy [mystery series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No._1_Ladies%27_Detective_Agency_Series), but I haven’t read it.